Rinne
by Ettore
Summary: Shortly after the Uchiha Massacre, Danzo gives Naruto the Sharingan due to surrounding circumstances, and Naruto goes down a different path for better or worse.
1. Chapter 1

Seen so damn many of these that it should have dissuaded me from making a new one, but whatever. This story, if the title was not indicative, is about the Rinnegan, and everything leading up to it.

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><p>Danzo Shimura looked through the window into the observation room as his ROOT medics finished up the process of implanting Fugaku Uchiha's Sharingan eyes into the unconscious jinchuriki. He would make the perfect asset. With his already Jonin-level reserves the boy would be able to use his Sharingan almost indefinitely. Combining that with the Senju DNA already making up the boy's body due to his Uzumaki heritage and this child had the potential to become an S-Class shinobi. And the best part was...<p>

Danzo wouldn't have to do a thing.

He would allow the boy to continue his life as a moron until he fell into a situation in which he would use the Kyuubi's chakra in defense or offence, Danzo didn't care which. The potency of the demonic chakra would burn off the variation of the caged bird seal that Danzo would be applying himself. The seal was designed to keep his Sharingan sealed and change their color back to the blue the boy was known to have. By the time Naruto went on a mission of significant difficulty that would force him to use the Kyuubi's chakra he would have enough chakra of his own to maintain the Sharingan without any drawbacks.

One might ask what Danzo was planning on doing once news spread of Naruto's Sharingan and how he obtained it. Well, as it turned out, he would do nothing.

Even if the transplant was traced back to him by Sarutobi, Danzo would probably be dead by then anyway. As it turns out, the disease which Itachi had contracted on a mission out of the village was a viral necrotic lung infection that was contagious and had no known cure. Simply put, Danzo's lungs were dying, and him along with them. He didn't know why his case was spreading faster than Itachi's was, but it didn't even matter. The Uchiha clan would be on the brink of extinction due to this virus even if Itachi hadn't slaughtered them.

Danzo's imminent death had put things in a new perspective for the old war hawk. Right now he was focused on two things; making the jinchuriki as strong as possible, and getting his ROOT soldiers back into the habit of showing emotion. They would need it if they were going to be reintegrated back into the village shinobi force properly. They also needed to be able to think on their own, if they were going to put their skills to use without him pulling the strings.

He looked back to the child on the operating table as they finished healing the Sharingan into Naruto's skull. He would be Danzo's last service to his village. He wanted to create the perfect weapon, but he would have to settle for a jinchuriki with the power of the Sharingan. Who knows, he might even unlock the Mangekyou Sharingan. A shinobi's life was full of despair after all, and the death of a comrade would hit a naive and isolated boy like Naruto harder than most.

XxxxX

Naruto awoke in his apartment with his eyes on fire. Not really, but it sure felt like it. He couldn't keep them open for longer than a second, the pain was just too intense. Walking to the bathroom he looked in the mirror and held his right eyelid open with his fingers so he could get a better look.

The sclera was red and irritated and his normally vibrant blue irises seemed to be a shade darker than usual. That could just be his imagination though. He sighed and looked at the clock on his bathroom counter only to realize that it was 9:14. He was late. Great.

He quickly got dressed and put his goggles on his head before walking swiftly to the door. Just as his hand reached for the knob he found it turning. Taking a couple steps back he pensively waited for the door to open. Hopefully it was just the Hokage and not another group of villagers waiting to beat him up.

Turns out it was neither. An ANBU walked through the door and jumped slightly when he saw Naruto standing in the middle of the room, "Uzumaki-san, where have you been? Hokage-sama has been looking for you."

Naruto was perplexed, "What do you mean? I was here all morning. Is it because I was late for the Academy?"

Tora frowned behind his mask, "Come with me, we need to see the Hokage." he said before putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder and they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

XxxxX

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt the chakra of one of his ANBU before there was a puff of smoke which cleared to reveal Tora with his hand on Naruto's shoulder. The Sandaime narrowed his eyes, "Where have you been Naruto? The village is in nigh panic over first your disappearance and then the incident with the Uchiha clan. Many are starting to say that you had a hand in it, despite my assurances otherwise."

"Ok, what incident? And i didn't disappear! I came home from the academy yesterday, went to bed, woke up with my eyes hurting like hell, was about to go to the academy because i was late but then your ANBU dude took me here." said Naruto defensively.

Hiruzen pondered over Naruto's story, even if he believed it, it just didn't add up, "Naruto, you have been missing for over a week, and the day after you disappeared the entire Uchiha clan was massacred by Itachi Uchiha. People who dislike you are generally pointing fingers at you."

Naruto's eyes were wide, "Wait Sasuke's clan was murdered? By his brother? This has to be a joke! Sasuke always talks about how cool and nice his big brother is. There's no way he would do something like that!"

"Well regardless it happened, and I'm suprised you haven't heard already. Which brings up the point of where you were. And why you don't remember anything." said Hiruzen inquisitively, "You said your eyes were hurting this morning, maybe they will have a clue as to what happened. Were going to the hospital." Hiruzen walked around his desk and put is hand on Naruto's shoulder before once again disappearing in a puff of smoke.

XxxxX

They appeared in a stone room with torches on the walls and strange symbols on the floor. Naruto was confused, "I thought we were going to the hospital, why are we here?"

Hiruzen looked at Naruto, "This is the hospital, or more specifically, it's the sealed off room beneath the hospital that only the Hokage, ANBU and head medic are allowed into. It's for sensitive and classified medical matters. You sit in the middle of that seal and I will get the head doctor."

The Sandaime left through the large metal door at the front of the room and Naruto sat down in the middle of the circle on the floor that was surrounded by what Naruto now recognized as Fuinjutsu, an obscure ninja art that Naruto knew was used for sealing things in scrolls and making exploding tags, but he didn't know what the seal on the floor was for.

The Hokage and another man walked into the room and Naruto immediately asked, "Oi, What's this seal for? I'm not sitting on a storage seal am I?"

The other man laughed, "No, that's a Medical resonance seal, it shows me everything in your body from veins and arteries to seal tattoos, but i imagine you don't have many of those."

Hiruzen nodded, "He said his eyes were hurting this morning, and he can't seem to remember the last week and two days."

The medic nodded before he made several hand seals becore putting his hands on the edge of the seal, which began glowing with green light. He frowned as he saw two things which unnnerved him, "What is the meaning of this Hokage-sama? He has eyes that aren't his, and what sort of looks like a caged bird seal on his forehead giving off a layer of chakra changing the appearance of his eyes."

The Hokage looked sharply at Naruto before calling off the seal, walking up to naruto and putting his hand on his forehead, injecting chakra to disrupt the flow of the seal. He and the medic gasped, and Hiruzen shouted, "Naruto! Tell me where you have been for the last week! How do you have the Sharingan?!"

"The what? What's a Sharingan? I don't remember what happened, i already told you everything." said Naruto nervously as he had never seen the old man this angry at him before. He noticed his eyesight seemed sharper for a moment before going back to normal, the seal back in place.

Hiruzen deepened his frown, "I think i know what's going on, my old teammate has a hand in this, i can feel it."

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><p>I have been wanting to make one of these for a while, tell me what you think in a review.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

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Naruto was sitting on one of the chairs in the Hokage's office, apparently waiting for the arrival of the Sandaime's former teammate. Naruto never thought about what Hiruzen did before becoming Hokage, and he realized that at one point the aged Hokage had also probably been a genin. That one thought gave him hope that maybe he could become Hokage. Sure he always shouted that he would to the villagers on the street, but there was always a bit of doubt.

He heard a tapping coming from the hallway and looked to Sarutobi questioningly. It sounded... ominous, if he could give it a word. The tapping continued before it stopped right outside the door to the office.

Hiruzen sighed, Danzo never knocked, he simply made his presence known with his cane and waited patiently for the Hokage to say, "Enter."

The door opened and Naruto saw a man walk in who, despite his frail and crippled appearance, practically emanated power and control. So, this must be Danzo, the man who had something to do with Naruto's new eyes.

"Hokage-sama. May I inquire as to why I've been summoned?" Danzo asked before looking to his right to see Naruto staring at him. He looked back at Hiruzen and saw the serious glare on his face, and immediately knew what he was summoned for. He chuckled before letting out a cough, "I see, this is unexpected. I assumed that it would at the very least take until he graduated as a shinobi to be revealed but here we stand, not a full day after I released him back into his apartment."

"So you do have something to do with this." said Hiruzen, "Why would you do such a thing? Surely you didn't think that we wouldn't notice eventually."

"Oh I knew you would notice, and put the pieces together over time. I had simply hoped that the original plan of the seal coming off during a mission would take place, and that it would be revealed after my death." said Danzo casually.

"Wait, what do you mean 'after your death'?" asked Sarutobi.

Danzo gave a weary sigh, "I'm dying, Hiruzen. I've already gotten my affairs in order and soon you will be getting an influx of ANBU level shinobi entering your ranks after I do the best I can to give them their emotions back. My legacy will be small, but it is those eyes and my shinobi that I will be leaving in the wake of my death."

Hiruzen didn't know how to feel. On one hand he was flat out pissed that Danzo would go under his nose and implant his grandson in all but blood with the eyes of an already cursed clan, but on the other hand he was saddened by the imminent death of his once best friend, and could understand the urge to leave something behind. This could actually work in Naruto's favor as long as the village didnt find out about it until he could protect himself. He knew that this would garner even more hatred from the villagers and even the shinobi, but they already hated him enough to attack him in the streets, so he would simply have to hide it until he was strong enough.

"Hey old man, what are you dying of? Don't they have a cure?" asked Naruto with some concern. Even if this guy was the one who gave him these new eyes which he still didn't understand, and made him lose the memories of a week, he didn't want anyone to die if he could help it.

Danzo chuckled, "Young man, I am not a person you would want to keep alive if you knew some of the things that I have done. However, I appreciate the concern." He looked at Hiruzen in the eyes, "Hokage-sama, either you are going to tell him about his burden or I am. He needs to know why the village hates him if he is to accept it and grow into a shinobi worthy of the trust I have placed in him. Your naivete regarding the issue has always irritated me, and now that I have nothing left to lose, it WILL be revealed."

Sarutobi had slightly wide eyes as he thought about this perilous situation. There was no hiding it now, Naruto had his eyes on him and even if Hiruzen had Danzo removed and forbidden to say anything on the matter again, the seeds of mistrust had grown in Naruto already. The Hokage had always told Naruto that he didn't know why the villagers hated him so much, and now that Naruto knew otherwise, he practically had to tell him or risk the blond losing his faith in his most trusted confidant.

The old man sighed, "Naruto-kun, what I am about to say is an S-Class village secret, with the punishment of revelation being immediate execution. You are immune to this law, but I would urge you to keep it a secret and only tell those that you trust implicitly."

Naruto nodded, apprehensive about learning why everyone seemed to hate him besides a couple in his class and a total of four adults in the village.

The Sandaime began, "How old are you, Naruto-kun?"

"Eight."

"And what happened eight years ago, on your birthday?"

"The Kyuubi attacked the vi-" Naruto cut himself off as his eyes widened, "Wait a second, that's why they hate me?! I'm the Kyuubi?!"

"You are NOT the Kyuubi, Bijuu cannot be destroyed, they can only be sealed. The Yondaime Hokage, my successor and predecessor, sealed the body of the Kyuubi into the only child born that night, you. You are not the Kyuubi, you are it's jailer. Just as when you seal an object into a scroll, the scroll doesn't become the object."

Naruto had tears in his eyes, "But then why do they hate me? If they know I'm not the Kyuubi, then why do they kick me out of stores? Why do they attack me on my birthday? I don't deserve their hatred! I deserve to hate THEM!" Naruto shouted with anger in his voice.

Surprisingly it was Danzo who replied, "If you hate them, then hate them. Unlike my naive teammate, I believe that hatred can be extremely powerful as a weapon. Darkness is a tool, and if you bottle it up then eventually you will snap and become the very monster that the citizens of this village seem to believe you are. Prove them wrong! Use your hatred to grow strong with your own power. The power of the Kyuubi, and those eyes I gave you are merely tools to help you grow. Use them, and prove to this village that you are not the Kyuubi, but the only one with the power to protect them from it!"

Naruto was shocked into silence, he didn't know what to say. Nobody had ever told him that hatred could be a good thing, they always told him it was wrong. But what this man was saying made hatred sound like a good thing. He didn't want to become a monster, and it sounded like expressing his hatred was the only way to do it.

In a manner uncharacteristic of him, Naruto bowed his head and said, "Thank you Danzo-sama, you have given me a lot to think about." before he stood from his chair and left the office.


	3. Chapter 3

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XxxxX

**Four Years Later**

XxxxX

This was it. The last day of the academy.

Mizuki better not fail him out of spite.

The man acted nice sure, but Naruto could see the animosity the man held for him, as he held a face that gave the impression of a violent fantasy.

Well, it was his turn. Time to go.

He walked into the room and stood in front of Iruka, Mizuki, and another Chunin who was indifferent towards him.

Iruka smiled, "Are you ready Naruto?"

"Yup."

"Alright, please perform the Henge." Iruka asked. Naruto held a sign and with a puff of smoke, transformed into a perfect replica of Madara Uchiha as he was depicted in paintings. Iruka was confused, "Why would you choose that form Naruto? He's one of the village's greatest traitors."

"There's a lot about him that many don't understand, but i thought it was ironic. Considering I am alike to him in as many ways as I am his opposite. Nevermind." He said in a deep voice that seemed to match the form he took perfectly before transforming back into himself. Iruks shook his head, "Alright, please perform the Kawarimi." Naruto nodded, and without using hand signs, appeared on the other side of the room in a puff of smoke. Iruka's jaw dropped, "Wait, how are you over there?! There's nothing over there to substitute with." Naruto grinned, "There's the air."

Iruka sighed, "Of course I should have figured you'd pull something like that out of your ass. Naruto, that's called Shunshin, an advanced form of Kawarimi. You pass that test."

Naruto walked back to the center of the room and Iruka looked apprehensive about the next one, "Please perform the Bunshin technique." Naruto grinned before he put his hands in a cross seal and his presence spiked to a point which cracked the tiles beneath his feet. "Kage Bunshin!" An explosion of smoke and there were at least fifty clones crowding up the large room. Iruka couldn't believe his ears, so he pulled out a kunai and threw it at one of the clones far to the left of where he knew Naruto was standing. The kunai hit the clone and it dispelled, dropping the kunai straight to the ground. He looked at Naruto with a smile, "I am proud to say that you pass. Here's your forehead protector, wear it proudly." Naruto dispelled the clones and took the hitai-ate with a smile and said "Thank you sensei." Before walking out of the room.

He looked at the rest of the class with triumph before holding up his hitai-ate for the room to see. Several people clapped before looking at the person who was clapping the loudest, which happened to be Hinata Hyuuga. Once she realized everyone was staring at her, and realizing how loud she was applauding, sat down with a bright red blush on her face.

Naruto smiled when he saw her. He knew she had quite the crush on him, but he himself didn't know how to approach that situation, so he let it be for now.

That didn't mean he couldn't try to invoke a reaction out of her though. He ran up and sat down next to her before smiling brightly, "You'll do great when it's your turn! Believe it!"

That got a reaction all right, as she turned bright red, "T-Thank you N-Naruto-kun. I promise I'll do my b-best!"

Naruto smiled gently, "Have a little more confidence, you are strong. I know you are better than me in Taijutsu, and you have got the three Academy techniques down pat. You'll do great."

"Hinata Hyuuga, it's your turn." came Iruka's voice from the open door. Hinata immediately got nervous and started questioning herself. Naruto frowned and thought up an idea right then. He grabbed her hand and whispered, "Go prove your strength, and we'll go somewhere to celebrate, just the two of us." She turned sharply with her eyes wide before a huge smile broke out and she nodded before getting up and walking down through the class and into the room.

Ino looked at Naruto curiously, "What did you say to her? I haven't seen her that happy in quite a while."

"Thats our business." said Naruto curtly. He knew all about her gossiping tendencies and didnt want her to go around blabbing everything he said.

"Whatever, Naruto-baka probably just offered her some cinnamon buns or something stupid. Right Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, not getting so much as a glance in response.

"I assure you that's not what I said, but thanks for the idea." said Naruto.

Hinata emerged a few moments later with a hitai-ate around her neck, a happy smile spread across her lightly blushing face. She went and sat next to Naruto again as he nodded with a smile before looking towards the other room as several more people took their tests, with few leaving dejected. It wasn't long before Iruka, Mizuki, and the other Chunin walked out and announced the teams.

The relevent ones were:

Team 7; Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuuga, Naruto Uzumaki.

Team 8; Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Sakura Haruno.

Team 10; Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi.

"Yes!" Hinata quietly exclaimed. Naruto looked at her and smiled as well. Sasuke looked over and nodded to Naruto. After the massacre, Naruto reached out to Sasuke and made friends with him once he noticed the growing darkness in the young Uchiha. At first Sasuke refused all help, but after a 'friendly' spar outside of the academy in which Sasuke attempted to show Naruto his superiority, but instead got his ass handed to him, Naruto and Sasuke became close comrades, aiming to improve each other by exploiting and fixing the other's weaknesses.

In truth, they were both probably low Chunin level in skill, all they needed was experience. With Hinata in a squad with them, they were bound to become the best genin squad available.

Back to the present, a woman with long curly black hair and red eyes reminiscent of a Sharingan came in and took Team 8 out of the room. After that, a large man with a beard smoking a cigarette came in and took away Team 10.

Slowly one by one each team left the room with their Jonin sensei, until Team 7 was left alone, with even the Chunin leaving the room. Ten minutes passed, then thirty, then an hour. Eventually Naruto decided to set up a bunch of traps surrounding his chair. After a little while longer a man with spiky white hair and a lazy appearance walked into the classroom and studied the people within before he noticed that Naruto had his hand in a half ram seal.

Naruto grinned as he substituted with the man who was an hour and a half late before lots of things exploded throwing paint and glitter all over the masked Jonin.

Then the same guy walked into the door of the classroom as the other one went up in smoke.

"Hey! No fair, how did you know to make a Kage Bunshin?!

"Your file says that you made the first Hokage's head on the momument look like a concubine simply because and I quote, 'That bastard has too much damn history written about him, if I have to look at him again I might just puke.'" stated the Jonin with a lazy tone, "I figured you'd try to do something about my scheduling habits."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Ah. Yeah, well I'm not exactly patient, ya know?"

The man's lone visible eye softened for a bit before he said, "Meet me on the roof in five minutes." Befor disappearing in a puff of smoke. Naruto took Hinata's hand and walked to Sasuke before putting his hand on his shoulder and all three disappeared in a puff of smoke similar to the Jonin's.

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><p>This is going to be my first attempt at doing a pairing, and I am pretty sure I'm not going to do too well, seeing as I'm the wierdo that nobody likes enough to try and have a relationship with so my own experience on the matter is limited.<p>

Anyway, review with questions and I'll give answers as long as it doesn't spoil things about the story. Speaking of which;

thor94: Yes they will, but it will be difficult for the fox to accept his Jinchuriki when he possesses the Sharingan.


	4. Chapter 4

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Kakashi was suprised to see it was his hopeful students who stepped out of the smoke cloud of the Shunshin. Flicking his hitaiate up for a split second, Kakashi saw that it contained more chakra than either Sasuke or Hinata could use without panting, so it had to have been Naruto. But how did he know that already? Body flicker was taught only to Chunin and higher, "Who taught you that, Naruto?"

"Nobody taught me, I didn't even know what it was called until this morning. I just substitute with the air where I'm trying to go." said Naruto.

'Hmm, to be able to figure the Shunshin out on instinct... that's not the skill of the dead last.' thought Kakashi. Back on topic, "All right, we are going to tell each other about ourselves, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future, that sort of thing."

"How about you start, sensei?" asked Naruto.

"Alright, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I like a lot of things, I dislike some things. Dreams for the future? I have lots of hobbies." he said, blatantly hiding everything but his name, "You next, Hinata."

Hinata poked her fingers together, "Ano, I like cinnamon buns, my little sister Hanabi, and p-people who don't give up no matter w-what. I HATE the Caged Bird Juinjutsu that separates the Main and Branch families of the Hyuuga clan, and I don't like live shellfish, they're creepy. I s-suppose my hobbies are pressing flowers and trying to work on my style of Juken that fits m-my flexibility. My dream is to erase the line that divides the Main and Branch houses of my clan." she said without a stutter at the end.

Kakashi nodded, "Your turn Blondie." Naruto's eyebrow twitched before he smiled, "I like ramen, training with Sasuke, and my precious people. I dont like the time it takes to cook instant ramen, and people who won't give up on me giving up. My hobbies are training, sitting on top of the Hokage monument, and taking care of my window garden. My dream is to become Hokage to not only prove the people of this village wrong but to protect them even if they don't want me to."

Kakashi smiled under his mask, this boy seemed to be the perfect fusion of his parents. He looked to Sasuke, "Your turn."

Sasuke put his hands in front of his face in a sort of pose, "I... am Sasuke Uchiha..."

THWAP

"Ow! What was that for Dobe?!" Sasuke shouted while rubbing the back of his head.

"You were being overdramatic again." said Naruto flatly, "Continue, like a normal person."

"Ugh, fine." he almost whined, "I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I like training, reading, tomatoes, and blowing things up with fireballs. I dislike the Kyuubi, spicy food, and Danzo Shimura. I don't have many hobbies, but I suppose they are training and practicing my Genjutsu: Sharingan on animals. It's fun to make all of the Inuzuka hounds start barking for no reason. My dream is to redeem my clan and kill my older brother, though not for the reasons you might think." he finished sadly.

Kakashi was the most suprised by this. He expected some single minded avenger who wanted nothing more than to kill Itachi, but he almost seemed sad about the prospect. Wait, could he know? That's impossible, unless... he did say he disliked Danzo Shimura, maybe he really did know. He would ask the Hokage later, "Alright, we're going to take your Genin test tomorrow at 8:00, so meet me at training ground 7 then. Oh, and don't eat breakfast. You'll just throw it up." With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Wait a minute, I thought we already took the Genin test." said Sasuke. Naruto shook his head, "That was more of a pretest. The real test is given by the Jonin. If we fail we'll get sent back to the academy for another four years."

"Pfft. As if that would happen. We have the rookie of the year as well as the top kunoichi, not including you who should be a Chunin if not for your sense of honour." said Sasuke, "Wait, how did you even know that? Iruka-sensei never said anything about that."

"Danzo-sama told me." said Naruto simply.

"Hn. I don't know why you respect that bastard. If i was strong enough I would kill him myself." Sasuke said with a scowl.

"Ano, w-who is Danzo?" asked Hinata.

"I'll tell you later, Hinata-chan. For now we have to go find something to do for the night. I made a promise didn't I?" said Naruto with a grin. Hinata immediately smiled and nodded with a reddened face.

"Well I'm not interested in whatever that was, so I'll be at my house if you need me. I'm trying to figure out part of the Naka tablet." Sasuke said before walking away and stepping off the roof.

Naruto pulled out his wallet before slightly paling, "Umm, sorry Hinata-chan, but I only have enough to go get some ramen. I have some cinnamon buns at my apartment, but do you mind if we get the ramen first? I'm really hungry." Hinata, still with a smile on her face, nodded and said, "I-It's fine Naruto-kun, I'm sure I'll enjoy time with you no matter w-what."

Naruto returned her smile, and with that the pair made their way towards the Ichiraku ramen stand.

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><p>Sorry for the really short chapter, but I just needed to get this one out of the way before the Genin test next chapter.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

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Naruto walked onto the training ground thirty minutes late with a bag of various munchies over his shoulder. Sasuke and Hinata looked at the bag confusedly until they saw that it contained smaller bags of dried meat and fruit, three each.

"Why did you bring all of this, Naruto-kun? I t-thought we weren't supposed to eat breakfast." asked Hinata.

"That's what Kakashi-sensei said, but I asked Danzo-sama about him last night as well as various Genin tests. One of them is called the 'Bell Test'. This test was a teamwork evaluation given by the Nidaime Hokage to the Sandaime Hokage when he was just a student, then by him to Jiraiya of the Sannin and his team, then by Jiraiya to Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage, then by him to Kakashi-sensei's team." Naruto explained while distributing the bags to his soon to be teammates, "The first part of the test starts the day before, when the Jonin receives their team. They tell the team to avoid breakfast. Then in the morning, they give the team a seemingly apparent test of getting a bell from the Jonin, however, there are only two bells. They are told that they have to get a bell or they fail and get sent back to the academy."

"But wait, I thought this was a teamwork exercise. Why pit the team against each other like that?" asked Sasuke while chewing on a piece of jerky.

"That's exactly why. He is trying to see how we function together under pressure. The reason for going without food is twofold. One, to cause a little bit of discontent from the hunger, make the team not think as clearly. Two, is so that if they don't get a bell, which is likely, they are told not to feed the one who performed the worst. That person gets tied to a post and watches as everyone else gets to eat. The other teammates are really supposed to give the one tied to the post some food, thus demonstrating teamwork on it's most basic level."

"That's... ingenious! N-No wonder it's been used so much." said Hinata.

"Maa, that's kind of cheating Naruto. Now I have to go to the backup test. That one would have been considerably easier." said Kakashi as he was leaning against a tree a short distance behind the hopeful Genin reading an orange book. They all jumped in surprise when they heard his voice and turned around to look at him.

"Well we are shinobi, not samurai." said Naruto with a grin.

"Ano, sensei, why d-did you let him explain it if you were there the whole t-time?" asked Hinata.

"Oh, I wasn't here the whole time, I just caught the part where he revealed, and subsequently broke, an almost fifty year old tradition. Now that he did though, it gives me an opportunity to use another test that has the potential to be really fun or really boring, depending on your skill." he said as he walked into the middle of the training ground. He turned around and looked at them, "The test will be to get my back to touch the ground. If you can't do this in an hour, you fail. All of you."

Naruto got a glint in his eye and flopped to the ground on his back before putting his right hand in a half ram seal. Kakashi saw what he was doing and jumped into the air as the blond attempted to substitute with Kakashi. It failed of course, as it required a halfway stationary target.

"Nice try Naruto, but if you wanted that to work you shouldn't have shown me that skill yesterday." said Kakashi from his place on a tree branch.

Naruto grinned, "Well, it never hurts to try does it?" He got up and grabbed Sasuke and Hinata's shoulders before they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Looks like they are going to go plan and attack. May as well get some reading done." said Kakashi before burying his face in his book.

XxxxX

"Dammit dobe, at least warn me next time!" whispered Sasuke harshly. Hinata nodded in agreement as she looked a little ill.

"Alright, fine. So, what's the plan? I doubt we'll be able to catch him off guard, even if he underestimates us." said Naruto.

Hinata hummed for a little bit before asking, "Naruto-kun, y-you wouldn't happen to know any other jutsus aside from the academy three, Kage Bunshin, and Great Breakthrough would you?"

"Well, I know another Futon and two Doton jutsu that Danzo-sama taught me." Naruto responded. "Which are they?" Hinata asked. She had been stuttering less and less due to her increased comfort with the blond because they were already close friends. Sometimes she would even spar with him and Sasuke when she had the time.

"Futon: Blades of Wind, Doton: Earth Wall and Doton: Hidden Mole." answered Naruto.

Hinata nodded, in full planning mode, "Alright, I have an idea."

XxxxX

"Hmm... seems like they would have attacked by now..." mused Kakashi.

He didn't have to wait long as a large fireball came blasting out of the woods behind him, forcing him to dodge. He landed in the middle of the clearing only to be assaulted by Hinata who was attacking him with Juken. As he kept dodging backward away from her strikes his back hit an earthen wall. He was surprised enough to not notice Sasuke running up behind Hinata. By the time Kakashi looked back towards Hinata he found himself staring into a pair of two-tomoe Sharingan eyes.

"Genjutsu: Sharingan."

It was not even a second before Kakashi quickly broke out of the slightly paralyzing illusion by pinching himself, but that was all the time it took for a pair of hands to burst from the ground and grab tightly onto his ankles before he could dodge. Just as he was about to break free he noticed Naruto now in front of him holding his palm out facing the cyclops before he shouted, "Futon: Great Breakthrough!"

The high powered wind rushed from Naruto's outstretched hand and impacted Kakashi, sending him through the weak earth wall.

He was falling.

His back was two inches from the ground.

POOF.

Apparently he was a shadow clone.

Not cool.

"Oi! Kakashi-sensei! That's not fair! We were soooo close!" Naruto complained.

"Ah, but although you didn't manage to get my clone on it's back, you DID dispel it. You three academy students managed to trap and land a solid attack on a Jonin level opponent. Granted that opponent severely underestimated you, but the fact remains." Kakashi said from where he stood on another tree branch that was rather well hidden.

"Honestly, i haven't seen teamwork that fluid since the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and they are considered the best team players in the village. I am impressed." Then he became serious, before disappearing and reappearing with a kunai held to Naruto's throat, "Hinata. Kill Sasuke or Naruto dies."

Everybody's eyes widened in shock, and Hinata was frozen.

"These are the types of decisions that we have to make in the world we live in. There's a reason I tested you for teamwork when I could have simply done a one-on-one evaluation with each of you. In the shinobi world, those that break the written and unwritten rules are deemed trash... but be that as it may... those that would disregard their comrades so easily are even worse than trash. To know what is right and choose to ignore it is the act of a coward. And I am happy to say that none of you are cowards. Sasuke, I know you wanted to just charge off and attack me on your own, just as you did, Naruto. Hinata, I know about your reluctance to fight because you don't wish to cause harm, but here's the thing: each one of you trusted in each other enough for you to reign yourselves in, or in Hinata's case, find your will to fight." he said after removing the kunai from his pupil's neck, "You pass, each one of you. Without each other, you are exceptional for Genin. But as a team, you are even more formidable. I'm going to stop now before you each get a big head, but just know that I am happy I got you three as a team."

Naruto was smiling, as was Hinata, while Sasuke was wearing a triumphant smirk.

"So, what happens now?" asked Naruto.

"Now, you go home and get some rest, because after that we will be training in the morning at 7:00, before we start some easy D-rank missions." said Kakashi before walking off, "I have to see the Hokage."

The trio looked at each other before Naruto spoke first, "Well, I have to do something too. Sorry, but it can't wait." Hinata nodded, as did Sasuke, and they each walked in the direction of their respective homes, with the exception of Naruto, who was walking somewhere else.

XxxxX

"Enter."

Hinata slid open the door and walked in before sitting down in her father's study. His stern gaze not even looking at her.

"Report."

Hinata nodded and began telling Hiashi about the test from the beginning where Naruto revealed to them the nature of it, to Kakashi changing it to a different test, Naruto's substitution attempt and the following Shunshin into the forest, to the plan she came up with, ending with their team victory over Kakashi Hatake's Shadow Clone. Absently she noted that her father had stopped writing, and was staring straight at her. His gaze made her uncomfortable, and she shifted slightly.

Hiashi was contemplating what he had just heard, 'I wonder if it was the Jinchuriki who has inspired this change in her. She has been improving remarkably over these last couple years. Add to that she seems happier. No thanks to me of course.'

Hiashi sighed, "What can you tell me about that boy, Uzumaki?"

Hinata's eyes narrowed. "What about him?" she asked with a slightly chilly tone.

"I just wanted to know why he affects you so much that your improvements have made the Elders consider not branding you with the caged bird seal." he said.

Hinata blushed, and that was all the answer he needed.

"Ah."

She blushed more, having known what that meant, "You're not... going to forbid me from at the very least being friends with him are you?"

"No. He has a good effect on you, and I was friends with his father." he said.

Her eyes widened, "Naruto-kun's father? you know who he is?"

"Yes, but that information is classified, do not tell Uzumaki-san that I know ." he said.

"B-But why? Doesn't he deserve to know who his parents are?" Hinata asked.

"While that would normally be the case, Uzumaki-san's parents have may very powerful enemies that would jump at the chance to kill their only son." said Hiashi quietly.

"Alright, otou-sama." Hinata said as she got up to leave, walking to and opening the door.

"Hinata."

She turned around, "Yes otou-sama?"

"I am proud of you."

Hinata beamed as she left the room, muttering a soft 'Thank you.' in response.

XxxxX

Naruto stood over a hospital bed in a small facility outside the village. He was allowed out of the village whenever he wanted for this very reason.

Sucking in breath after ragged breath, Danzo lay in the bed with an oxygen mask on his face.

"How... did you do?" he asked between breaths.

"Great, Danzo-sama." said Naruto, going on to explain everything that had happened in the test, and Kakashi's speech afterwards.

"Heh-heh... always so... sentimental... that Kakashi." Danzo chuckled weakly.

"Yeah. Hey Danzo-sama, I need to ask. What is the other way to unlocking the Mangekyou Sharingan? I know about the killing loved ones method, but I would never resort to that." said Naruto.

"Well... I do not know... the method by which... Shisui unlocked... his Mangekyou... but... I know... that he always... had his Sharingan... activated... so maybe... that is a clue..." said Danzo, "Why sudden interest... in the Mangekyou?"

"Well, the Mangekyou was said to be able to control Tailed Beasts, and I am tired of the stupid fox trying to make me kill people who call me names or throw things at me. Especially since I want to probably more than the fox." Naruto explained.

"The Mangekyou... makes it easier... but... the power... to suppress the Biju... is already there... in the third tomoe..." said Danzo.

"But I don't know how to use it." Naruto sighed.

"All good things come... to those who wait..."

XxxxX

Sasuke stood in his house, staring at a picture of Itachi and him smiling as he was given a piggyback ride by his older brother.

Sasuke touched the image of his brother while letting a tear fall to the ground.

"One step closer... to our dream..."

* * *

><p>So, longer chapter this time, and I liked the feel of it too.<p>

As always, tell me what you think. Ask any questions. Even flame if you want to, because chances are that in a long ass flame it might actually contain a point or two which could help me improve my writing.

Anyway, I've decided on Mangekyou techniques, and boy do I like them. The cover image will change each time Naruto's eye evolves, and I even designed my own Mangekyou pattern that I am very proud of. It's not fancy or anything, but I like it nonetheless.


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